Know Your Options:
Unplanned Pregnancy O
ut of the 6.1 million annual pregnancies in the United States, 45 percent are unintended. This means the pregnancy was either unplanned or mistimed, according to the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. For many women, an unplanned pregnancy can be scary. “When the stick turns [blue] or you get two lines, there’s going to be that moment of panic, like ‘Oh my god what have I done? What do I do? My future is in jeopardy,’” said Lynn Handley, president of the American Pregnancy Association. Women are taught about possible ways to prevent pregnancy, including birth control options, using a condom and abstaining from sex altogether. However, despite preventative measures, you can still get pregnant if you choose to have sex — and it’s important to know what your options are if you find yourself unexpectedly pregnant. Talking about unplanned pregnancy has become a politicized issue in today’s culture, said Matt Sones, the vice president of patient services at CompassCare Pregnancy Services. As medical providers, he continued, it’s their job to help pregnant women see the options they have more clearly, free from societal pressures.
22 Wellness
by Cayla Keiser photography by Amelia Hamilton design by Jiayi Zheng
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If you find yourself pregnant and questioning what your future looks like, educate yourself.
“When our patients come in, it’s not a political issue for them,” Sones said. “One of our little mottos is ‘We inform; you decide.’ We’re here to give you as much information about what’s going on inside of you so that you can make the most informed decision for yourself.” The first step in making a decision is to determine if you actually are pregnant.
Are You Pregnant? If someone thinks they might be pregnant, they can start by taking a home pregnancy test or going to the Student Health Center (SHC) on campus. The SHC provides urine pregnancy tests to students free of charge, according to Betty Vickery, women’s and
sexual health nurse practitioner. Pregnancy tests can also be purchased at most stores, such as Wegmans or Walmart. “One thing they need to understand about the test is the timing is important. They have to be at least 10 days pregnant for the test to turn positive,” Vickery said. “So if someone’s concerned that a month ago they became pregnant, if I do the test now I can count on its accuracy. If they had sex with someone last weekend, it’s too early for me to tell.”
What Are Your Options? If the tests are positive and pregnancy is confirmed, it’s important to know all the options before deciding how to move forward. They can raise the baby, put
